The present invention relates generally to systems which control and monitor manufacturing processes, and more particularly to such systems that can be configured with minimal modification of software.
Present manufacturing monitoring and control systems permit the addition of objects or components to the processing system being monitored and controlled, but such addition of objects or components is made within a fixed logical and/or input/output (IO) configuration. A user must modify the software in the monitoring and control system in order to operate outside the fixed configuration provided. In order to do so, typically a skilled software engineer is required, and the coding required is usually very complicated, tedious, and difficult to debug. Accordingly, to overcome the problems in the prior art, there is a long-felt need for developing monitoring and control systems for manufacturing processes that are flexible in permitting a user easy object definition in configuring various tools and devices that have distinct attributes and logic. Also, there is a need in such systems for permitting a user to easily assign input/output (IO) in any desired location within the manufacturing process, to have the ability to easily update the system configuration, and to accomplish the monitoring and control functions with a minimum of manual addressing of the computerized control system, all without requiring the user to have any programming skills.
The manufacturing of electronic devices, such as solid-state or integrated circuit devices, relies upon the use of chemicals that in state-of-the art systems are delivered through automated distribution networks. Such processing systems also typically include pumps, blenders, extensive piping, valve boxes, and so forth, all of which require control mechanisms and systems for the safe and timely delivery of the various chemicals to their associated points of use. Presently used control systems typically rely on commercially available or proprietary control hardware systems that are programmed through use of customized or at least partially customized software. These known systems require that the software be modified in order to accommodate any changes in the chemical system, and typically require the services of a highly-skilled software engineer. As a result, such systems are limited in their flexibility, and require extensive time to institute changes to the system, which in turn increases cost due to downtime, and reliance on additional personnel.
With the problems of the prior art in mind, the present invention provides a Configurable Control System (CCS) that is computerized for performing control and monitoring of industrial processes, and permits rapid deployment and modification through use of means for configuring the system without requiring any software or programming modification. Note that although the present invention is described for use in the control and monitoring of the delivery of chemicals, operation of tools, valve boxes, and other devices, in chemical systems associated with the manufacture or fabrication of electronic devices, the present invention is not so limited, and can be applied for use in other manufacturing environments.
The present invention includes means for permitting a manufacturing system to be easily configured, to add or delete tools, valve boxes, modify distribution of chemicals, and delete or add points of use, while substantially eliminating downtime of the associated chemical system or manufacturing process. In one embodiment of the invention a Configurable Control System (CCS) includes a three-component software application, the first software component being a configuration tool, the second component being a CCS Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) application, and the third being a CCS PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) application.
The configuration tool component, in a preferred embodiment includes a form based graphical user interface (GUI) to permit a user to define the physical and logical configuration of the manufacturing or processing system, such as a chemical system.
The SCADA software component provides means for downloading the configuration file from the Configuration Tool to a chemical monitoring system (CMS) and programmable logic computer (PLC) application. The SCADA application also deploys changes and auto-generates graphics and alarms based on the system defined through the configuration tool.
The third software component is a CCS PLC application that uses the configuration file to define the objects and logic of the manufacturing or processing system, by assigning input/outputs (IO), and logic based on the system as define via the configuration tool.
The various embodiments of the present invention when used in a chemical processing system, for example, provides xe2x80x9cplug and playxe2x80x9d means for permitting a user to readily add or remove tools, add or remove valve boxes, add or remove IO controllers, add or remove equipment controllers, change the distribution of chemicals, modify control signals, and so forth, all without requiring software modifications.